If you’ve been following my recent tweets about targeted harassment and misogyny in the Asian Am community and want to help, Louis says it well. Stand with harassment victims (of all races). Follow people who write on this, listen, and learn. Such as:
To learn more about these issues, including the harassment many Asian women face AND the very legitimate problems Asian men face that often (misguidedly) leads them to harass:
@reappropriate and her blog
@aesthdistance1 and her blog
@AntiBullyArcee
...
@reappropriate and her blog
@aesthdistance1 and her blog
@AntiBullyArcee
...
There are many more, but I hesitate to share their handles for fear of calling them to the harassers attention again. (See how this works? We all get very quiet, hoping they’ll leave us alone. That we’ll somehow stay off their radar. But it never works.)
So instead let me say this: when you see Asian women—or any WOC— talking about or receiving harassment, believe them. Stand with them. Send them a note of support—even if you aren’t Asian or POC or a woman. Just as a human. And *support their work.*
There are a lot of amazing Asian women doing great work RIGHT NOW that you can support. Stream the hell out of Jenny Han’s To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before. Go see Crazy Rich Asians again. Buy a book by an Asian woman author—please, someone else besides me!
Here is a great list of books by Asian Am women to get you started: theeverygirl.com/books-by-asian…
Here’s another, about books just out this summer: usatoday.com/story/life/boo…
Here’s another great list—and there have been even more since then. electricliterature.com/the-asian-amer…
I’m focusing on Asian Am writers here b/c that’s my wheelhouse, but if you can think of an Asian woman in the spotlight, odds are high that she’s been harassed or will be at some point. Support them where you can. Watch their shows, read their work, follow them. Cheer them on.
This problem isn’t about harassment of any one person. It’s a widespread problem and it’s perpetrated by a small minority, but it has a huge negative effect. And it hurts us all, even those who perpetrate it.
I’m focusing on Asian women here, b/c that’s my experience & the problem I’m highlighting focuses disproportionately on Asian women. Know that most Asian men are NOT part of this harassment. They deserve our support as well—guys, I’ll do a thread for you when things calm down. 😘
And the harassment of women by people of their own ethnicity, often focusing on their choice of sexual partner, is not just an AmAm issue. Other women, esp. women of color, face this too. I don’t want to speak for them; I hope others who know will tell their own stories.
And, yes, men are sometimes targeted for their choice of partner too. @MrEddieHuang posted he gets hate for “dating out” as well. Also not acceptable & I’m glad he spoke up. Again, I’m focusing on Asian women’s experience b/c that’s what I know & a disproportionate part of it.
The point is: harassment of anyone is not okay. Stop harassing people. On twitter, via email, on FB.
If you aren’t part of the problem, then be part of the solution. Which leads me back to the start of this thread: learn about these issues. And support the work of Asian women, esp the people being harassed. Read their books, watch their films, see their shows, encourage them on.
A roundup of more recent books by Asian American women, if you’d like to support them and their work. (I say this seriously: please buy one other than mine. All these writers deserve wide readership!)
Yet another thread of recommendations by one of the smartest and most voracious readers I know:
If you are not Asian, or POC, or a woman, you may be feeling uncomfortable or unsure about how to show your support without seeming like you’re out of your lane or playing the savior. This is a valid concern—some thoughts:
And yet more...
